


Hell in the Depths

by Diamondwraithsong



Category: BioShock 1 & 2 (Video Games), One Piece
Genre: ASL Brothers, Adventure plot, Bioshock AU, Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, Dystopian Rapture, F/F, F/M, Family Dynamics, M/M, One Piece characters living in Rapture, Rapture (BioShock), Survival, Takes place in the Bioshock universe, shipping in future chapters (not between ASL)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:08:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23695186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diamondwraithsong/pseuds/Diamondwraithsong
Summary: The fall of Rapture was only a few months prior. The underwater city is in chaos and resources are difficult to find as splicers go along on their daily hunt for ADAM.Living in a kitchen of a run-down restaurant, Luffy and his brothers are surviving. But when foodstores run low, they venture out into the city to find a way out of the sunken city. Along their path, they meet many new friends and love starts to sprout among the horror.Luffy is sure that they will all survive to make it to the surface, he just needs to keep reminding the others of that as well.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok! First off, this story was started in January. This means that it began before the Virus hit here and so therefore none of this was meant to parallel the insanity of real life in any way. I apologize. 
> 
> I own neither OP or Bioshock. I just mix 'em together

The sound of blood-curdling shrieking startled Luffy from his slumber. His heart slammed in his ribcage. Pain and anxiety clawed at his chest as he lay there in his foul-smelling bedding of soiled clothing. He clenched his fingers in the nest of ratty clothes and squeezed his eyes shut against the darkness surrounding him. 

Moisture pooled in his eyes as the horrific screeching beyond the metal walls of the kitchen were joined by loud banging. He flinched at the sound glass smashing followed by crazed laughter. He released the bedding and pressed his hands to his ears instead. He clutched at his ears and rolled over. He curled into his big brother as he desperately tried to block out the sound of revolver shots that abruptly cut off the laughter outside. There was more yelling, more screams of psychosis and pain. 

And then… Nothing.

Somehow, the absence of sound was more frightening than the sounds themselves. When screams and nonsensical ramblings could be heard beyond the door, that always told you for sure that monsters were lurking. But when the restaurant beyond the kitchen was quiet, there was no way to be sure that the room was empty or if a splicer was just standing in a corner and staring at whatever caught their eye. It was unsettling.

Luffy winced when his gut churned and let forth a noise of protest. The emptiness in his belly was painfully noticeable today. Perhaps because the teen’s nerves were already on edge, any small amount of added stress felt like a whale had been dropped on him.

He took a breath and slowly crawled out of his musty nest, leaving his siblings to sleep. He stood up and didn’t bother pulling his suspenders over his shoulders. His trousers clung to his thin hips as he carefully stepped across the grimy gore-stained floor. He made his way over to the long counter space across from the stoves.

The left-hand side of the counter, the side furthest from the door, was where they kept their weapons and supplies. The blue glow of the EVE resting in the three hypodermic needles was the only source of light in the room. The hypos surrounded the boys’ small hoard of weapons and first aid kits. It was great for quick retrieval in the dark.

Luffy made it to the counter and stared down at the pile of weapons. He frowned, trying to decide what to take. He had some skill with the revolver but it wasn’t really his strong suit. Hand to hand combat with the wrench was more his style. But if he gets caught off guard from afar, he might need the range of the revolver.

“Where do you think you’re goin’, Little Man?” Luffy frowned as he heard the scolding tone in Ace’s voice. The words were distorted as the older man gave a loud yawn. 

“I’m hungry.” Luffy retorted. He frowned and instinctively grabbed the wrench out of the pile. The dried grime crusted to the bound handle of the wrench caught on his calloused fingers as he turned to Ace. The teen frowned at his brother, the weak glow of the EVE serum only intensifying the shadows under his eyes. “There’s no more food in cupboards.”

Ace’s mouth opened to shut down Luffy’s plans for foraging but the words didn’t even make it to his tongue. He was trapped. All he found himself able to do was stand there, just staring at the young man who grew thinner with each passing month. How could he ask Luffy to go another day with no food just to avoid the monsters that lurked beyond?

“We can’t avoid this any longer, Ace.” A voice rumbled tiredly from the direction of the musty nest. “We need to make a stand.”

A bit of the faded spark returned to Luffy’s ever dulling eyes as he heard. A grin grew on his face in that instance. The life started to flow back into his body as the promise of food kindled his dwindling spirit. The call for survival sounded as a small flame of determination began to burn.

“We’re gonna eat?!” Luffy asked. He began to bounce on his toes. The sludge made up of congealed unnamed fluids coated the metal floor and squelched between his toes with each movement he made. The flutter in his chest made him completely unhindered by the horrors that stained the ground.

“Yup! We’ll get somethin’ yummy to eat.” Sabo agreed heartily. The blond walked into the light of the EVE, allowing the others to see him. He gave a yawn as he tucked his tattered cotton shirt into his trousers. The material had once been a respectable white when he’d bought it all those months ago but now had been stained a filthy brownish color in places.

“I don’t think we’ve finished searching all of the restaurant yet.” Sabo continued. His sleeve had scrunched up in his sleep. He pulled it down to cover the burns marring the pale skin of his left arm. He flinched away as Ace’s fingers snapped and summoned his Incinerate to allow them more light but Sabo recovered quickly. He instead turned to Luffy and smiled sweetly. “I’m sure there’s some pep bars out there you can snack on, Loof.”

A minute frown plucked at Ace’s lips. He moved his arm out to his right, opposite of Sabo’s direction. He wasn’t dumb. He could see those looks that Sabo gave the plasmid in the glow of the EVE. Were it Ace’s choice, he would never summon the flames again. But that wasn’t something he could do. Incinerate was a tool; a tool to keep his family safe from murderers. 

And he would use it.

“We’ve got no other choice unless we want to starve.” Sabo’s voice cut through Ace’s thoughts as the blond leaned past the counter. He reached into the hidden corner of the room and grabbed a long pipe he had stolen from maintenance when he was fixing something before the fall of society. He clutched it tightly as he straightened up, turning to face the Ace. “It sounds pretty quiet out there. We should go now.”

Luffy could see the unease on Ace’s face in the weak light. He knew that he should understand where Ace was coming from but he just couldn’t today. He was hungry. It felt like there was a monster gurgling in his thin belly as it tried to claw its way through his stomach lining. He hated this feeling; hate also that he had grown used to this feeling.

He turned his gaze to Ace, silently pleading that they could leave the confines of the filthy kitchen. His fingers tightened around the handle of the wrench. He pressed his thumb into the dull corner of metal towards the wrench’s head. The strange and vague uncomfortable sensation was oddly grounding. It helped him keep his focus from wandering to what horrors lay just beyond the thin metal doors that kept them safe from the world beyond.

Ace ground he gritted teeth as he looked from Sabo to Luffy and back again. There was a twisting spiral of anxiety slowly curling in his belly. His fingers slowly curled into a fist as he took a deep breath. He could see the hunger on his siblings’ faces. The desperate looks over intensified the shadows caused by lack of rest. To deny them this right was cruel even if he felt it foolish to leave their safe haven.

But a haven was only such if your needs were being met. These walls. They gave them shelter and a warm enough nest of filth to curl into for the night. But that was all that it had to offer currently. The restaurant kitchen had been ransacked long before they had fought to call it home. The rotten bread and few cans of fish and fatty beef had only been enough for a few meals even when rationed. Three adult males couldn’t live off of such limited food supplies.

He tried to shift his stance but felt the muck coating the metal floor stick to his work boots and squelch underfoot. To the side of him, he saw Luffy wiping his own foot off on a fallen towel before slipping his sandals off. With all the jagged metal and exposed wires out in the rest of Rapture, he really wished that they could find a pair of boots that would actually fit the teen. Still, it wasn’t like Luffy would even wear them.

“Alright. Let’s get this done.” Ace made his voice firm, solid and comforting. He reached between the other two to the pile of weapons. He grabbed the neglected revolver and a handful of rounds. He slipped into the shoulder holster, making sure the open front of his shirt didn’t hinder his ability to retrieve the weapon.

He smirked at Luffy and ruffled his hair. His free hand reached out, gently squeezing Sabo’s hand while turning towards the kitchen’s door. Light filtered in through the filthy windows. With the others at his back, he stepped towards the exit. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Plasmids are special serums made from processed ADAM, that introduce modified stem cells into the body, allowing for genetic modification and mutation, giving the user what some might call "super powers". Their use requires a supply of EVE.] -- Bioshock Wiki
> 
> [Remnants of Rapture's human population, Splicers are the result of ADAM use, which greatly increased during the violent conflict of the Rapture Civil War. Within this war, and the chaotic days that followed, the Splicers murdered most of the sane population of the city. Due to excessive ADAM consumption, their bodies and minds have been deformed beyond repair.] -- Bioshock Wiki

Ace took a shaky breath as he slipped the key into the padlock that held the chain used to lock the kitchen door closed, keeping them all safe. He gritted his teeth as he turned the lock. Every sound feltlike an explosion that would alert the Splicers beyond at any given second. His stomach twisted and he felt like vomiting despite the distinct lack of food in his shrunken belly. His hands shook and he closed his eyes for a few seconds as he slowly slid the padlock free of the chain. Metal scraped against metal, jingling and clattering as he pulled the chain free of the door’s handle.

Once the door was free, Ace forced himself to breathe again. His lungs burned and his chest ached the slightest bit from the breath he had been holding. He forced his spine to straighten up as he rolled his shoulders back. The weight of the revolver in the holster against his ribcage felt grounding, keeping him alert but making him feel as though he were in charge of the situation. He moved his head forward, pressing his ear to the door. His eyes slipped closed as he took in the sounds beyond. He listened for scraping sounds, gunshots, and screaming but heard none. All that lay beyond was the creak of metal and the mournful songs of the whales that swam beyond the filthy glass cage that was the city’s walls.

While Ace listened for dangers, Sabo stood tall in the darkness. Pipe in hand, he stood in front of Luffy, guarding the teen with his body. Splicers were human in a technical sense but that didn’t mean that they stopped when hurt. If one managed to slip past Ace then Sabo wasn’t letting that drug-crazed psycho close enough to hurt Luffy. He would die before he let those freaks come for his sibling’s ADAM. Even without using a plasmid, Luffy had taken physical tonics for work so there was ADAM circulating around his system. Sabo knew those sick fucks wanted it and they would destroy this underwater hellhole even more to get it.

Luffy was putting on his sandals as he waited for Ace to open the door. His wrench was settled snugly into the waistband of his trousers. He fought the internalized need to hum and break the silence that appeared to be suffocating the room. He just wanted everything to be over and done with. To rush outside and remove the threat so that he could search for food. But that wasn’t how the world worked anymore. One wrong move or a loud noise could get his siblings murdered. The things that lived out in the light of Rapture were no longer human. They were cruel and they were violent. They would tear out one another’s throats just to find the treasure hidden in the victim’s belly. That was what the world had finally come to.

It was disgusting.

“Keep yer eyes open and voices low.” Ace commanded. He took a breath and held it as he started to pull the kitchen door open. He gritted his teeth to keep from hissing in pain at the light that filled his vision and made his eyes sting. It took a few seconds to recover and Ace couched down as he waited for his vision to return fully. He swallowed thickly as his eyes darted from each possible hiding spot that a Splicer could be waiting in. He looked to the sidewall of the staircase beside the kitchen door. The carpeted steps were stained with what he hoped was wine but knew was blood. He shook the thought from his mind and crawled over to crouch in the shadow of the staircase. He motioned at the door for the other two to follow him out.

Sabo stooped down and clutched his pipe at his side. He made sure Luffy did the same before leading him out of the kitchen. He stayed low and let the glow from beyond the filthy window walls to actually light the way. A scraping sound from the floor above caused him to freeze. He reached back behind him and gently grabbed Luffy’s shift, keeping him from moving. Sabo felt like his heart was in his throat as his pulse slammed. The scraping stopped but that did not actually ease the buzz of anxiety rattling in Sabo’s brain. He forced Luffy to wait a full minute before finally releasing the younger man to move. The blond forced himself to limber up and suddenly realized he had been clenching his jaw, causing his teeth to ache once he released it.

The restaurant’s bar was before them with the opening facing towards the kitchen, allowing them to see that there were no splicer’s hiding. Ace stayed crouched beside the stairs as Sabo slowly edged past the bar to inspect the rest of the bottom floor. Anxiety and hunger swirled in Sabo’s belly as he crept forward, the sensation making it feel like his stomach was being twisted and pulled into knots. He felt like he was going to vomit but he swallowed thickly to try to soothe the sensation. Vomiting now would only endanger them. The sound would call out to every hidden splicer in a fifty-foot radius. And anyway, what would be the point of vomiting, there was only bile and water bubbling in his shrunken belly.

Scavenging was extremely hard for Luffy. On a mental level because it meant that his brothers were starving, but also on a physical level because Luffy struggled to stay quiet. He always had to clench his mouth shut to keep from talking. He didn’t seem to know how to modulate his voice very well and it had gotten them all into trouble in the past. Before they had come to live at the Kashmir Restaurant's kitchen, they had just been wandering around. He had found a hoard of slightly rotting fish to eat and yelled that to his brothers, alerting Splicers to their location. He could still remember the horrible guilt of seeing the spider splicer’s sickle hook into Sabo’s leg. Luckily the damage hadn’t been too extreme.

But it had changed something in Luffy that day. He became concerned with his body’s own unreliable nature. He refused to be the one that lured those freaks in for the kill. He wasn’t going to let what was left of his life be stolen by lunatics that cared more for drugs than the safety of the other citizens. Splicers had stopped being human months ago. Luffy knew that Ace would never turn into one of those monsters being a plasmid user but that didn’t stop the very real fear that one of those things could get one of his brothers.

But fear of the future could turn the present to tragedy if he lost focus. Luffy took a steadying breath through his nose and fought every natural instinct to call out to his brothers to see how they were. He ground his teeth and let the weak music flowing through the restaurant’s speakers to soothe him. He crouched down, practically crawling, low to the ground. The carpet beneath his sandals was stiff and filled with the stench of rancid wine. He raised his hand to his face and pinched his nose shut as he started to feel around under the bar. He grimaced in contempt, finding only bottles of alcohol. Perhaps they would ease his brothers’ minds for a few hours but they would do nothing for the ache in their stomach.

A low whine sounded in his throat as he searched every inch behind the counter. There were no scraps of food. No canned meat or even a simple pep bar. Though, behind a stash of three bottles of whiskey, he did find a wad of cash. He snatched it up and clutched it to his chest before quickly counting it. He was not the most excellent at math but counted out about twenty-seven dollars in the money clip. If they could just get to a Circus of Values then they could buy a bag of chips and some pep bars to share. Splicers lost the higher brain function needed to buy things so there was no way that the snackfoods would be taken!

Shoving the money into his trouser pocket, he made his way out of the bar area. He peeked his head out from around the corner, curious as to what he would find. He couldn’t see Sabo but Ace was still by the stairs, watching them. Figuring that it was safe to move without being seen, Luffy straightened up. He looked out towards the wall of the restaurant that was made of tall panes of thick glass which were the only thing keeping the ocean out. He drew in a tight breath and walked towards the windowed area. It was a step-down dining lounge in a mushroom shape with a large statue in the middle. Luffy knew that the statue was a figure from literature but he’d never been given the liberty of learning more than academic basics so that he could work in maintenance. The lounge was already filled with several inches of water as the city was falling apart. He just hoped that the water was from a cracked pipe rather than a crack in the glass. 

As he stepped into the small lounge, he noticed a few small tables with alcohol. One of the tables even had a tape recorder. He wondered who it belonged to but wasn’t curious enough to listen. It was probably filled with that person’s woes and Luffy had enough of his own to deal with. He walked to the side and stopped as he saw a body just lying in the water. It made him sad that such a sight didn’t scare him anymore. That was just life in Rapture now. Still, he nodded his head to pay his respects before creeping past the corpse. He moved to the table that had a small handbag on it. He’d never had an issue with stealing but this didn’t feel like normal stealing. This was stealing from a dead person and that felt wrong but he was hungry.

He grabbed the bag and undid the snap. As he did so, he saw something move beyond the window. He looked up and stared out into the neon-tinted waters. There was a beautiful group of jellyfish drifting by on a current. They were a lovely blue color. As he stared at them, they made him happy. Reality melted away. He wasn’t hunting for his life. He wasn’t holding a dead woman’s purse. No, he was just a young man staring at beautiful living creatures through a partially filthy window. Bag still in one hand, he reached out his other hand and touched the window. There was an orange starfish on the ocean side of the glass wall, just there probably eating that algae that crusted the glass. Luffy absentmindedly traced the outline of the small creature. Because fantasizing about collecting starfish was better than the reality of living in hell.

“Oi, Luffy.” Ace hissed anxiously in Luffy’s ear. His brother’s hand suddenly grabbing his shoulder startled the teen. Luffy jerked back, staring up at Ace in confusion.

“The hell’re you doin’?” Ace turned his brother around and pressed a hand to his forehead. He didn’t feel feverish, so that was good. Getting sick now was a death sentence. They didn’t have the nutrition or supplies to get anyone well.

“I just wanted to look outside,” Luffy replied. He sighed and looked down at the handbag. His heart beat fast. He saw another five dollars as well as two pep bars. It wasn’t much but it would be enough to make them at least feel like they had eaten something.

“I know you do, Lu.” Ace lovingly squeezed his sibling’s shoulders. “But it’s not safe. You can’t let your guard down for a second. What if I hadn’t been here and one of those monsters showed up?” 

“I’m tired of always lookin’ over my shoulder, Ace.”

“I know but that’s how things are now. Gotta stay focused and strong.” Ace gave his brother a tight hug before releasing him again. “So, wha’d ya find?”

“Mone-!” Luffy started to exclaim loudly but Ace covered his mouth quickly. He was given a stern look by the older man before given another chance to speak.

“I found money and pep bars. Jus’ a couple but it’s somethin’.” Luffy kept his voice lower this time. It was a struggle bordering on impossible for him as his voice naturally wanted to burst forth with his excitement over his good fortune. 

Ace visibly relaxed as a smile spread across his face. It was tired and it was worn but it was real. It had been a while since he had felt something close to happiness. But the prospect of food and healing -- if ever required -- was surely something to be joyous about. 

Though, the pleasure of the moment was suddenly stolen as an angry feminine scream sounded on the floor above. Both brothers instinctively grabbed their weapons as they spun around to face the staircase. The Splicer wasn’t there that they could see. It was in that moment of hearing running and a clatter on the floor above that Luffy noticed something. He looked about the room for signs of Sabo but saw no trace of him. A cold numbing chill slithered its way down each brother’s spine and pooled in their lumbar region.

Ace was the first to act. “Stay here, Luffy.” He hissed before rushing forward. He sloshed through the water filling the lounge area in long strides. He ran up the lounge’s slanted steps to reach the leveled out carpet of the restaurant’s bottom floor. In the back of his mind, he recognized the sound of Luffy moving in the water behind him. He couldn’t focus on his anger of his order being ignored as he raced for the staircase that led to the upper floor. His wet work boots squelched on the carpet as he took the stairs two at a time. He snapped the fingers of his right hand, making flames ignite from his skin. His other hand grabbed the grimy railing and he pulled himself up to the top floor.

He wanted to call out to his brother instinctively but that was foolish. He forced his mind to follow the screaming over to the left near the front of the restaurant. His eyes widened as he saw Sabo dive to the floor and slam into the balcony railing as a Splicer in a tattered party dress shot their revolver just above his head. Without another thought, Ace yelled at the top of his lungs to get her attention. He swung out his arm and snapped his fingers, fire erupting on the Splicer’s filthy dress. A shrill scream sounded through the restaurant, the sound bouncing off the glass wall of the lounge, as the Splicer swung around to face Ace and pulled the trigger of her revolver.

Everything happened quicker than Ace’s tired mind could process. The bullet flew towards him and penetrated his left arm. The force of the shot mixed with his startlement and he fell to the ground clutching his arm. As his mind hazed with pain, he could see the Splicer screaming and writhing on fire before she collapsed to the ground. Ace’s eyes watered at the prospect of technically killing someone, even if she was a monster beyond redemption or sanity. But the emotional pain ebbed as the physical pain crowded the front of his mind. He whimpered out a weak sob as Sabo and Luffy dropped to their knees beside him.

“Is it bad?” Luffy squeaked. He tried to reach for Ace’s wound but Sabo gently shoved his hand aside.

“No…” Sabo paused for a moment and frowned. He could already see Ace readily bleeding through the sleeve of his shirt. “But we’re out of first aid. With the city in the state that it currently is, the wound can easily get infected.”

“Wha’ do we do the-?!” Luffy slapped a hand over his mouth to keep himself quiet.

“The bleeding is bad and the wound isn’t deep but we need to get to the Medical Pavilion.” Sabo hissed as he looked about for more splicers. “Get him up.”

Sabo grabbed his pipe as he stood. He helped Luffy lift Ace to his feet. Luffy quickly helped take some of Ace weight while the older man recovered mentally from the wound.

“What the fastest way out to the Pavilion?” Luffy asked softly.

“Through the old theater. Let’s go.” With that said and their hunger shoved behind them, Sabo took the lead towards the restaurant’s broken down restrooms.


End file.
